Dershem is accused of robbing a woman at the Dollar General store in Coe Township just outside of Shepherd at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Mt. Pleasant police are investigating a robbery at the Speedway gasoline station at 201 S. Mission St. at about 10:30 p.m.

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During his arraignment by Isabella County Trial Judge William Rush, Dershem said he is trying to get disability, that he and his family were recently evicted from their home and that he has no income.

Dershem asked for a court-appointed attorney, and told the judge he has a lawyer working on his disability case on a contingency basis.

Rush ordered Dershem to remain in the Isabella County Jail on $100,000 cash bond after Isabella County Principal Trial Attorney Mark Kowalczyk asked for a high bond because of Dershem’s criminal history and because of the seriousness of the charges.

Dershem, who was arraigned via video from jail, begged Rush to give him a personal recognizance bond, telling the judge he only has months to be with his wife and children because of a medical condition.

“I’ve got really bad problems,” Dershem said. “I can’t get out of bed in the morning.”

Rush had to warn Dershem to stop talking twice during the arraignment: once when Dershem said “there’s more to the situation” and again when he said that the arraignment was “very one-sided.”

“I’m not saying that I didn’t screw up,” Dershem said before Rush was able to stop him from talking without an attorney.

A 23-year-old St. Louis woman was shopping at the Dollar General store on East Blanchard Road in Coe Township at 8:22 p.m. when Dershem allegedly grabbed her from behind and forced her into a back room in the store, state police Detective Sgt. Gary Green said.

Dershem, who police said was armed with a pair of scissors and threatened to pull a gun from his pocket, allegedly demanded money from the woman and said he would kill her if she screamed, Green said.

Dershem is alleged to have taken the woman’s phone, bound her hand and covered her mouth with a paper towel and tape, and fled the store, Green said.

A state police tracking dog and handler tracked Dershem from the store and found pieces of clothing he is alleged to have discarded, which led troopers to him after he had been found by other troopers, Green said.

Police said Dershem was traveling through the area and that he confessed to the attack on the woman, who was not injured.

As troopers were handling that robbery, Mt. Pleasant police were called to the Speedway station, where a woman reported that a man grabbed her purse and ran away after she left the store.

Public Information Officer Jeff Thompson said the woman and the suspect struggled briefly over the purse, and the suspect was last seen running east on Michigan Street.

In the Speedway robbery, the woman was not injured, Thompson said.

Police are looking for a man described as about 40 years old, standing 5-feet, 10-inches tall with an average build, possibly with some facial hair, and a long gray pony tail.

He was described as wearing a black T-shirt with writing or a logo, and shorts.

Thompson said there were no photographs or video available Thursday morning.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Mt. Pleasant Police through Isabella County Central Dispatch at 989-773-1000 with information that could lead to the identification or arrest of the suspect.

Susan Field can be reached at 989-779-6075, sfield@michigannewspapers.com or follow her on Facebook at facebook.com#!/susan.k.field.